Maisie
by Gottahavemyncis
Summary: One of Tim's new family members has some information she wants to share. Is it about one of them, Ducky or both? Sequel to At What Price, including the OCs.
1. Chapter 1

From At What Price: _Tim noticed Ducky and his Grandmother Maisie taking quick glances at each other, with something like surprise and shock on Ducky's face. He didn't know Gram Maisie well enough yet to know her expressions, but shock would be his guess for her as well. Now, as he sits in the chair in front of the graves, out of the corner of his eye he sees Ducky and Maisie walking together amongst the tombstones and there is some emotion there. As far as he knows, they had only met on the trip out here, or had they? He shakes his head, another question for another day. _

Eight weeks later -

Tim smiled at his Gram Maisie as she opened the front door. It was a Saturday with no work and Rob, Sarah, Tim and Ziva had been invited to a barbecue with their newly reclaimed family. The former McGee, now Gibbs and David group was a bit early but wanted to offer their help. Ziva brought a salad she'd made with all kinds of interesting things in it, Rob made his brother's favorite yellow-cake corn bread, Tim and Sarah brought chips, a fresh vegetable platter and dip.

Although each of them had seen their Uncle James, Aunt Claire, or Gram Maisie on an individual basis since the re-interment service two months ago, this was the first opportunity for a full Hubbard family gathering since then. Mrs. Crane, Claire, Maisie and the children had been at the courthouse when Sarah and Rob's adoption by Gibbs was approved, immediately followed by Tim's name change. He was still "Special Agent McGee" at work, but everywhere else, he was a very proud Gibbs. He'd kept McGee as his middle name, honoring the late Commander and his little brother Patrick. His uncle and godfather had been away on a float, just recently returning so now it was time for the family party they'd been planning since that day in the conference room at NCIS.

Tim's dad had also been invited today and would be arriving a bit late. Gibbs was working on a project at the mission shelter in Bayopolis and would join them when he was done there. All three of the siblings were touched and amused that Gibbs had gotten so involved volunteering at the shelter and camp where they'd spent their childhood. Gibbs wasn't the only one; Ziva told Tim earlier that Tony was joining Gibbs today; he'd grinned as he knew his dad had been in for another surprise today and hoped he reacted with good grace. Ducky and Jimmy's weekend clinic would be open soon; they had persuaded a young local doctor, Hannah Chesney, daughter of Dr. Kelly from the clinic years ago, to join them and, with Director Vance's approval, they were now working out schedules so that both the clinic and NCIS Autopsy would have coverage.

Each of the new arrivals bent and kissed their grandmother on the cheek. She was in her 70s with beautiful white hair and a lovely smile. She was still apt to be overcome with emotion when seeing her long lost grandchildren and today was no exception. She beamed at them with tears in her eyes and then held her arms open. The four of them gladly entered her embrace.

Having grandparents was very new to them all and they were thoroughly enjoying it. Between Jackson selling his business and preparing to move closer to his new family, their grandmother Penny descending upon them with various treats and words of wisdom, and grandmother Maisie's open arms, they were experiencing a level of love and warmth not previously found in their lives. Add Gibbs' enveloping parental love and eagerness to be with them as much as possible and the four of them were having the time of their lives.

Ziva remembered times when her mother, sister, aunts and uncles were still alive, but she'd never met her grandparents. Sarah and Rob were used to a family life of three or four, having always had Tim as their 'parental/older brother' figure along with Geordie whenever he was home. But Tim had always been the one 'in charge'; since the murder of his adoptive father and to an extent before that, he'd never had anyone older to turn to, or not that he remembered being able to do. Not someone that he could trust and always count on to be there for him. Now he had this large family and loving it, if he was sometimes a bit overwhelmed.

Uncle Jim found them, still held in his mother's arms and grinning, snagged first Tim, then Rob from her. "Sorry Mum, I need their help! See you girls!" The two young men chuckled as their uncle led them out to the patio.

"She's feeling a bit overwhelmed with things today, boys. Claire has been trying to get her to open up all day, but she said it was too soon. I'm hoping Sarah and Ziva will have more success."

"Too soon for what, Uncle Jim? Has she been ill, is there something wrong?"

"No Robbie, she's not been ill but there's definitely been something on her mind - since we took that plane trip."

Tim suddenly remembered his pondering about Gram Maisie meeting Ducky on that trip, but he didn't mention it, figuring it wasn't his business.

"I know that was a tough trip, Uncle, especially for Gram. Seeing the grave-site for the first time and the re-interment, that was hard on all of us, I can't imagine what it must have felt like for her, the reminders of her losses. My mom, Patrick, even the Commander."

"I suppose, Tim, but this feels more like something else, maybe something new, I don't know. Now, I really do need your help. Your aunt decided this morning that we needed a new and larger picnic table, so I went, I bought and now Callum and I are stuck. The instructions aren't very clear and furniture assembly was a class I must have missed at Annapolis! I'm hoping enough of your dad's building expertise has rubbed off on you two!"

Rob chuckled, "I helped him with some wood work a couple of weeks ago, Uncle, but that's about it. Sarah, Tim and I did put together Tim's furniture when he first bought it though. "

Tim shook his head, "It can't be that hard, it's a table. Come on, Rob, let's show the Hubbard boys what the Gibbs boys can do!"

As they reached the patio, they caught a glimpse of young Callum's head under a very unstable tabletop. Tim and Rob caught the unwieldy thing just as it threatened to collapse on their cousin.

"What, oh thanks guys! Hey Dad, I think we're doing this wrong!"

Tim laughed, saying, "Ok, Callum, let's see what we've got. Rob, how about you and Callum gather all the fasteners, check them against the list on the instructions and separate them. Cal, maybe you could get a few storage containers or bowls from your mom to put all those in?"

Callum nodded and went off while Rob started separating. As he'd said earlier, they'd been through this before. With his uncle, Tim took the wood pieces and separated them, legs, long tabletop, supports. He was studying the instructions, trying to decipher the definitely not 'consumer friendly' words, when he gave up, looked at the picture and decided that would be easiest. "Ok, guys, we're just going with the picture, these idiots didn't bother to check their translation from whatever language those instructions were originally written in."

Tim and Rob shared a love of puzzles so they put things together, telling Callum and their uncle what to find and attach where. They had the table assembled on sturdy legs within a half hour and were greeted with applause from the ladies and Gibbs, who had arrived mid-assembly and had been enjoying watching them figure it out, along with a cold beer.

Now he called out, "That's great, Hubbard, good thing you have some Gibbs' influence in this family or we'd be eating off our knees!" Behind him, Ziva and Sarah snorted back their laughter, feeling they could have put that table together in half the time. Uncle Jim laughed, he and Gibbs were beginning to find some form of friendship and he didn't mind the tease.

Cold drinks were distributed, chairs and benches were drawn up and everyone relaxed for awhile, chatting with each other. Gibbs gave his son a soft headslap, Ainsley gasped and Tim and the others laughed.

"It's ok, Ainsley, I don't know what this one is for; sometimes it's for something good, at work it can be if I've sassed him – he is my boss you know - and sometimes it's to refocus me - point me in the right direction."

The young teen nodded, understanding that neither her new uncle nor cousin were upset with each other. Gibbs smirked at his kid and noticed a twinkle in Ziva's eye. "Or when I'm so proud of him I could burst but I don't want to embarrass him by kissing him. That was a good thing you did, Timson, I'm grateful, proud of you and I don't even know what else to say."

Tim blushed and Ziva giggled, holding his hand.

"And what did our boy do, Jethro?"

"Admiral, I can only tell you part of the story because it's…"

Ziva and the 3 siblings chorused, **"Classified." **

**"**Yeah, it's classified. Do you two remember the day you met Tim I asked you to go easy on him because he'd been involved in a classified case all week?"

Jim replied, "I was kind of in a fog, but I remember the word being spoken, yes."

"We sometimes work closely with the FBI and usually with one specific team, led by Tobias Fornell. Fornell and I go way back, nearly twenty years now, been through some rough times but up until recently, we've always managed to hang onto our friendship. However, the 'classified' case that involved Tim was…instigated by the FBI and Fornell brought it to us at NCIS or rather he threw us into it. About all I can tell you is that it was the biggest pack of lies and innuendos with absolutely no supporting evidence that I've seen in my years in the Marines and NCIS and it was all put forth by Fornell and his team. By the time we'd broken his case for him, there was enough bad feeling on the side of NCIS that the Director ordered Fornell and his team out of NCIS Headquarters. Now Tim had been under the gun with them all week…sorry kids, I didn't mean that literally, I meant it was like he was under a microscope," Gibbs shook his head, he was going to have to get used to these two young ones, the Hubbard kids, and watch what and how he said things. Seeing Claire's slight nod, he continued, "For no reason and they were particularly nasty about it. And I know nasty because I'm very good at that myself." He smirked at his snickering kids, all four of them, pointing at his two agents."And so are you, Officer David, Special Agent McGee!" They quieted down. "It ruined the friendship. Tim talked to me a few times about Fornell, but I was still too angry with the situation they caused and I didn't want to make the first move. Or any move."

He paused and had a sip of his lemonade, yes, lemonade. "I get to the mission today to work on the project, I expected DiNozzo, so no surprise there, but who pulls in after him but Tobias Fornell." Tim just smiled at him. "And DiNozzo knew, so Ziva, you must have known and told him so he wouldn't have his usual fit." Ziva just grinned.

"Why would he do that, Uncle Jethro?"

"Because Ainsley, the FBI has been very bad to Agent DiNozzo a couple of times in the past and he isn't very fond of Fornell. But he puts it away when we have to work together and that's all I can ask of him."

"You have to work with people you don't like?"

Tim stepped in, "Yes, we do, Ainsley; but mostly we don't like them on a professional – or work – level. Sometimes, as my dad is saying, we do like those same people outside of work."

"So Tony handled it ok?"

"Yeah, think he was more worried about me."

"And?"

"Fornell said he contacted you to see if you would speak to him – and to see how you were doing and you told him about all of us," Gibbs, grinning now, made a circle with his hand including the whole family, "When he asked if the two of you would be able to work together again, you told him not until he settled things with me and that he could start by working on the project with me."

"And?"

"Geesh, what are you, an interrogator?"

"Yes, taught by the best, Boss and you're deflecting."

Gibbs' grin just got wider, "I gave him all the uh…crummy jobs. When I left, he was scraping the kitchen floor with a butter knife!" Admiral Crane and Captain Hubbard both barked with laughter, that was a typical basic training punishment.

Tim rolled his eyes at his father, "Are you speaking?"

"Not yet, Tim, not personally. One day of enforced volunteering isn't even close to enough for what they tried to do to you, for the grief they _did_ put you through. And the fact that we solved not only his case for him, but all the others as well, gave closure to those…you know and gained all these wonderful people is not his doing."

"But you will work things out with him?"

"Will you?"

"Told you, they've lost my trust but I can work with them. Just don't ever pair me up alone with either one."

"I don't think our Director is going to let them back in the building much less allow them to dump a case on us anytime soon. So yeah, that works."

"So, Dad, why don't you tell everyone about your project?"

Gibbs leaned over and ruffled Rob's curly hair. "Ok, kiddo. We're building a separate room in the mission for 'quiet time' or studying, so the kids can do their homework, help each other if needed and not be distracted."

"There was extra room?"

"No, we're pushing into the back parking lot, don't need more than a few spaces back there anyway. Started out as a small project but the city took notice and since the labor is all donated, they're chipping in for the materials, which the local home centers are discounting. And we were able to get more equipment donations, thanks to our kids here," and the proud papa indicated the three siblings and Ziva, "so now we're moving the kitchen to the new room in the back, with newer appliances, then the 'quiet' room will be in the old kitchen area."

"That sounds like a monster project!"

"It sounds like it but Tim got a local contractor – and former resident of the shelter - on board, so he's acting as the general and keeps it going. I'm working on parts of it, I call him and tell him I'm bringing 2 or 3 people with me to help on what day and he gives me the go-ahead."

That generated more talk, Claire wanting to know what else would be needed and Sarah pulled a list out of her pocket. At some point, Jim fired up the barbecue and soon the burgers and hot dogs were ready, along with all the treats the others had brought.

Tim was keeping an eye on his grandmother, she had been listening but there was something a little off about her today, not that he thought he was any expert after such a short acquaintance.

When Maisie suddenly got up and went into the house without saying a word, Jim started to get up. Tim gestured for him to sit and followed his grandmother into the house and into her bedroom. He hesitated at the threshold; he hadn't been here before and felt like he should wait to be invited. Maisie was at her dresser, holding what looked like a photo.

When she heard him, she turned and gave a deep sigh when she saw her grandson. "Oh Timothy, I'm glad it's you!"

"What is it, Gram? Are you feeling all right? "

"Yes, dear, I'm fine; I'm just being a ninny about something."

"Anything I can help you with?"

"I don't think so, dear boy."The older woman looked up with a smile, "It's really just a silly thing."

"Do you want to go back outside?"

"Well…no. I don't know. Not right away. " She paused, "Tell me, Timmy, is Jethro very close to Donald?"

"You mean Ducky?" At her nod, he continued, "Yes, they're very close friends."

"Oh dear, well, then."

"Gram, are you sure you're all right? You don't seem very…settled."

Maisie patted his cheek, "I'll be fine, I'm not ill, sweetheart."

Sarah wandered into the room, "Hi Gram, everyone's wondering if you're ok and if either of you are coming back out to the party."

"Yes, I suppose I will now, darling girl."

When Maisie walked off ahead of them, Sarah poked Tim, "What was that all about?" He shrugged, "I don't know, she said she isn't ill, that it's something silly and she's just being a ninny. Reminded me of you when you were 10 and had a crush on that redheaded kid." Sarah started to sass back and then a thoughtful look settled in on her face.

"Sarah? Sarah, come on, even if it was a man, she wouldn't act like this at her age, would she?"

"How would we know, Tim, neither of us has spent a lot of time around 70 year old women, now have we?"

"We should just leave it alone." Sarah nodded in agreement and they stepped back outside to the party. Their dad and uncle were having a wonderful time one-upping each other with their stories; Rob's head was bobbing back and forth as if he were watching a tennis tournament. The two siblings sat down just in time for dessert. Later as they were helping clean up, Tim heard his Gram tell Ziva that the two of them were lucky they worked with such wonderful people. She mentioned his dad, which didn't surprise him, he knew she was growing fond of him, but the second name had his mind whirling again. She said Donald Mallard. Tim again scolded himself; it was not any of his business.

Ziva brought it up on the way home, after they'd dropped Rob and Sarah off , thinking it was sweet that Maisie had taken such a shine to their friend. Tim chewed on his lip until Ziva, knowing something was up, poked him. "Ow Zee, that hurt. Ok, yeah there's something, I don't know what it is and it's none of our business." He told her what he'd noticed on the plane and at the cemetery and how Maisie had acted this evening. He ended his tale by repeating, "It isn't any of our business. If Ducky and Maisie are attracted to each other, want to …um, date, that's…" He stopped. "I can't think of it, Zee. I love Ducky and I love Gram, but I can't…" he shuddered.

Ziva laughed at him, "You never had to deal with facing the fact that your parents had sex?" He looked at her, one eyebrow nearly to the top of his skull. She gasped, putting her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh, "Oh Tim, I did not think. I meant Lily and Dan."

"Oh! Didn't even think of them," he laughed and shook his head, "I guess I would have had to deal with that if the Commander had lived, but since I didn't remember Lily…"

"I see, well the point I wanted to make is that most children go through that stage where they deny that their parents could ever have had sex. And that is what you sounded like when you were thinking about Ducky and Maisie."

"Ah, now that makes sense. Yeah, uh, I just don't even want to think about it." "

But from what you said, it looked like they had known each other before?"

"Yeah."

"A mystery we may never know." Tim nodded, he thought he could live with that, he was used to living with mysteries. Especially when it concerned family!

Once they reached home, he was distracted and forgot all about the mystery of Ducky and Maisie. The next morning, however, as he and Ziva returned from their run, he received a call from Ducky, wanting to meet them for lunch, saying he needed to talk with Tim about something. Since they already had plans, they instead arranged to stop by Ducky's home for tea in the late afternoon.

In the meantime, Tim and Ziva had a brunch date with Tony and Wendy. While things seemed to be progressing well, Tony was still feeling a bit unsure, so they'd set this date up to give him support and to form their own opinions of Wendy. Before they left, they received a text from Tony: '_Wendy's kid sick, she's home with him, I'm not allowed over there, brunch still…please?'_

Tim showed the text to Ziva who shook her head, "He will have to get used to that, she is a mother first."

"Let's just go anyway, Zee, we need to get out and have some fun. Maybe afterward we could do something."

"Such as?"

"Let's ask Tony!" He answered Tony that brunch was still on and they should do something fun afterward. Tony's reply was 'miniature golf?'. Ziva smiled at that, she had played before and enjoyed whacking that little ball through the dragon's jaws and the windmill. She nodded, smiling again. "That will be fun. Fresh air and hitting balls; I will bet against the two of you!"

"That's not a bet, that's just taking our money, Zee!"

"And I will enjoy it!"

"Good, you need fun after spending the day at a family barbecue."

"Timothy, be glad you have family."

He leaned in for a long kiss, "I am, sweetstuff and _we_ have family, Ziva, what's mine is yours." Then he grabbed her, "Come on, we have time for a joint shower."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

They were not late meeting Tony, mostly due to Ziva's driving and valet parking. DiNozzo had just arrived, so their time was actually pretty good. With the Gemcity reservations, they only had to wait fifteen minutes for their table, not a bad deal for a beautiful Sunday at a very popular restaurant.

As they finished their brunch, Tony having polished off both their desserts as well as his own, Tim leaned back, "So Tony, we want to have some fun before the work week starts. Do you still want to go play miniature golf? Because Ziva wants to take on both of us. What do you say?"

"I say, let's do it!"

Tim did a quick look-up and while Tony finished his dessert, they decided to try Woody's; it sounded like a lot of fun and was meant for all ages. After paying their tab, the trio left, agreeing to meet in Herndon at the course.

Woody's "Perils of the Jungle" proved to be a lot of fun and they had a great time hacking 'through the Amazon' and deliberately misreading the clues to get them through the course. Luckily there weren't a lot of players behind them and they quickly let those who were play ahead. So they took their time and laughed their way through the day. Tony was happily acting out golf movies, his favorite being "Caddyshack" with Bill Murray and Chevy Chase and his antics had Tim laughing so hard at one point he thought he was going to either have an accident or an asthma attack. Neither happened and the boys went on to clobber Ziva on the first nine, however she fought back and won the second nine, declaring a tie.

It was heading toward late afternoon when they finished up and the trio split at the parking lot. Ziva wanted to stop at their favorite gourmet grocery before heading over to Ducky's. Once there, she quickly found what she was looking for, ingredients for strawberry shortcake. They weren't that far from Ducky's so arrived before Tim could work his hand into the bag with the fresh strawberries. Ducky was his usual affable self; Tim wondered if the older man felt that he and Ziva were scrutinizing him more than usual. The doctor prepared their tea while Ziva put the strawberry shortcakes together. They adjourned to the dining room where they could eat their treat without danger of spilling on Ducky's newly cleaned carpet.

After they ate, Ducky cleared his throat. "Timothy, Ziva, thank you for coming. I have something I need to talk with you about, I suppose I should have included your sister and brother, but it's a bit personal and I don't know the dear children that well yet."

"That's fine, Ducky, please don't be concerned."

"Very well, well you see, children, it involves your grandmother."

"Which one?"

"Maisie, dear boy, Maisie… I…" Ducky sighed. "Did you never wonder why I remain single and childless?"

Tim swallowed, "Ducky…"

"Oh, that's not fair of me, I should just get off the stick and tell you." Ducky took a deep breath. "You see, when I was a young man in medical school in Edinburgh, I won a prestigious award that allowed me to attend one of the country's premiere medical schools for a year. So instead of doing my third year in Edinburgh, I did it in London."

Ziva nodded, "I remember you telling me that some time ago, of your year in London."

"Yes, good. I was enthralled, I had been quite content in Edinburgh, but London really opened my eyes. You might say it opened me up to the world, as cliché as that sounds. Not just the people, as Edinburgh is also an international city, but in more ways than I can say, London seemed to me to be the crossroads of the planet. There were, and are, bits of every known culture; whether that culture is alive and active or ancient and extinct. News flows in from everywhere; events became known to me far faster than I'd ever experienced. And this changed everything for me. My determination to become a physician, no, that was strengthened but not changed. What changed was how and where I would practice. I saw an open venue, if you will, such a large number of choices. I could go to Africa and work in clinics there, perhaps travel to work in a canoe. Or South America or the Middle East or the Far East. The possibilities seemed endless. I dug even deeper into my studies, determined to be the best so that the best choices would be open to me. I became something of a recluse, devoting my life to my education and ignoring my friends and their attempts to tempt me away from the books and operating theaters.

Eventually however, one of my closest friends got as we would say today, "in my face", and convinced me that my seclusion was unhealthy. He was a fellow Reekie; sorry that's old slang, a fellow Edinburghian, studying law at Oxford. I managed to avoid his Boxing Day invitation but felt so badly that I accepted the invitation to Burns' Night, a celebration we Scots hold on Robbie Burns' birthday," Ducky paused and chuckled, "Drew, my chum, was so determined to roust me from my quarters, he showed up in full regalia nearly an hour ahead. He was there, he said , to ensure I didn't weasel out of going. Since he was in his clan tartan, I followed suit.

Now, Mallard is a French name; the story passed down in my family is that my French ancestor, Henri Mallard, the younger son of Yves Mallard, a merchant of spirits in the region of Brittany, was sent to Edinburgh to meet with their business partners. While there he met and fell in love with sweet Alice Buchanan. His father, having also known true love, allowed him to emigrate and open a branch of their business in Edinburgh; Henri married Alice, his true love and thus the Mallard family was established in Scotland. Although my ancestors have added many illustrious names to my lineage, I regard myself as a member of the Clan Buchanan. So for the party, I donned my own clan finery and left with Drew." Ducky paused for a long sip of his rapidly cooling tea.

"The celebration was held at a private home and as such was by 'invitation only'. We arrived to find an astounding array of fellow Scots in various tartans and even Sassenach clothing," He paused again at Tim and Ziva's inquiring expressions, "English clothing; Sassenach is the word a Scot may use to describe an English person or something English. Not the friendliest term, mind you! But my eyes were immediately drawn to the most beautiful being I'd ever seen in my life, a lovely young woman with light hair and cornflower blue eyes. Although she was dressed in a Sassenach dress, it fit her very well and she wore a scarf – or sash –of her family tartan around her waist. Now, I wasn't a child, I was in my mid 20s and had dated my share of lovely young ladies. But this one took my breath and speech away, yes, that is what I said, Timothy!"

Tim smiled back at Ducky, trying to imagine him 1) speechless and 2) a young man. Shaking his head a bit, the older man continued his tale, "Now as it happened, my parents and forefathers passed along the right genes to me and the ladies generally seemed to find me pleasing to look at – I have photographs, yes, there, Ziva in that second album – so other than the fact that I still could not form an entire word, I had little trepidation that the young lady would turn me away, not for my looks at any rate."

He stopped as Ziva had opened the album and was gazing, trying not to look astonished, at a photo of a decades-younger very fashionable and admittedly hot Ducky, sparkling bright blue eyes, his hair a bright blonde and in a stylish 60's haircut with a devilish smile on his lips. Holding the album up so Tim could see, she saw the brightness in her boyfriend's eyes and knew he was wishing, as she was, that they had known the younger Ducky and what formed him, as well as their beloved older friend. Ziva knew both of them were thankful he was sharing this piece of his past with them.

They looked up at him now, smiling and nodding and he continued. "Drew had seen my eyes go straight to the young woman and guessed my predicament. He laughed at me, but then brought me a glass of beer to bring me back to reality. After I'd quaffed a good deal of it, I ventured over to the ladies. Ah, I neglected to mention, my new love was in the company of another comely young woman, also in a pretty dress but of course nowhere near as bright and beautiful as her friend. So as I said, I ventured over to them, asking them if they would like a drink and thus easing myself into some conversation. They introduced themselves, the friend's name was Jocelyn, she worked in some sort of office and the two young women were flat mates. From her accent, she was from Cornwall, in southern England.

My angel introduced herself to me and I gave her my name and we drifted off together to talk and listen and learn and I couldn't tell you anything else about that party, just her face, her eyes, her lovely voice. My dear children, it was love at first sight for the two of us. Drew and Jocelyn eventually pried us apart and we left; telephone numbers and addresses in hand. We met, my angel and I, on the weekend for a romantic walk in Kensington Gardens and an even more romantic dinner. Finding time for each other was difficult with her work – she worked in the same office as Jocelyn – and my studies, but we managed. Money was limited so I splurged on our first outing and then cut back. She cooked me dinner in her flat and we did a lot of walking together. I don't think either one of us cared what we did, as long as we were together. We saw the occasional movie, went dancing, attended parties together, after all that meant free food and drink. As the months went by, our relationship grew and I was finding it difficult to balance my studies, my aspirations and my heart.

We had been seeing each other for close to six months when I received a tremendous opportunity, one I did not feel I could easily pass up. I was invited to join "Doctors Without Borders" for a twelve month period, even though I had not yet completed my studies or my residency, some of which could be completed within the organization. It was the chance of a lifetime and although I agonized over my decision, there was no clear answer. It would mean leaving my love who wanted and deserved marriage, a home and children. Facing the facts, I knew this would also likely lead to other opportunities. When my angel realized I was agonizing over something, she sweet talked it out of me and that night I could see, as I told her, something changing in her eyes. Talking of my hopes and dreams was very different from being presented with a real and present opportunity. I had listened to her dreams as well and knew she wanted stability and a family, not following a doctor around the world or perhaps worse, having a spouse who was rarely home. I knew I would have regrets whichever I chose, but my angel surprised me, freeing me to follow the other part of my heart, the part that wanted to save the world. We said our goodbyes and I left London for my 'tour of duty' with the Doctors' organization.

I stayed with them for nearly two years, completing my residency. At some point, I received a letter from my angel, a "Dear Donald" letter if you will, telling me she had married my friend Drew; she was content with him and they were now preparing to move to America. I continued my work, and my broken heart, the one I myself broke, eventually mended. I had relationships after that, but never found anyone to replace my angel and so I have remained single and childless. That is until I joined NCIS, made friends with Leroy Jethro Gibbs and met you lot. Now I have family again and I find a deep happiness within me knowing all of you."

They sat in the darkening dining room, the sun having set during Ducky's story. Noticing now, he rose and turned the overhead light on. "Mustn't sit in the gloom!"

Tim, hoping he knew the answer, finally asked the question, "What was her name, Ducky? Your angel's name?"

Ducky looked at him and chuckled, "As if you haven't guessed, Timothy! Her name is Maisie; Maisie Charlotte Spalding Hubbard, yes your grandmother is my angel."

Ziva and Tim gave each other high fives and Ducky looked rather astonished.

"Ducky, I saw you two on the plane to California. And at the cemetery. On the plane you were shocked and at the cemetery the two of you walked off together and I could see there was some emotion there between you. But it wasn't any of my business, so I didn't ask and I only told Ziva yesterday, when Gram was acting a little…different."

Ducky nodded, "Yes, I called her Friday and asked her to lunch with me this week. She wanted me to talk with you first."

"About how you almost became my grandfather."

"Well yes, and there is more; I am hoping to …that is…I still love Maisie and I would like to pursue a relationship with her, but only with your permission."

"My permission, why not Uncle Jim's?"

"I suppose because you are the one with whom I have a familial relationship. If I win back my angel's heart, this time we will marry and we will then be related."

While Tim was processing that, Ziva cleared her throat, deciding to ask the question she knew Tim would not.

"Ducky, is there any chance that Lily was yours?"

Ducky smiled nostalgically. "I'm not saying it could not have happened as we were very close, but no, dear, Lily was born more than a year after Maisie and Drew's marriage. "

Tim looked disappointed and Ducky chuckled. "I am sorry, Timothy."

Tim nodded his head and then sat up straight and looked his still-surrogate grandfather straight in the eyes.

"You intend to stay with her, to provide a home for her?"

"Yes, lad, I do."

"And you promise not to hurt her?"

"Barring the occasional argument, yes I promise."

"All right, you have my permission to date my grandmother."

After a few more minutes of conversation and another story from Ducky, the two bid him goodnight and left for home. Tim handed the keys to Ziva, much to her amazement. "Here Zee, would you mind, I need to think."

"Thank you, Tim, I will drive carefully."

He looked at her, his brow furrowed, "Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?" They laughed and made their way home.

Since the next day started a new work week, Tim let the information about Ducky and Maisie drift to the back of his mind. He thought of telling his dad, but figured that was Ducky's business. They caught a triple homicide Monday afternoon and spent the week chasing down leads, finally matching their suspicions with Abby's ballistics evidence toward the end of the week. The killer behind bars, reports done, Tim was packing his gear for the weekend as they were on call, when his cell buzzed, the ID showed Gram Maisie.

He mouthed "Maisie" at Gibbs, who nodded his permission to take a personal call; Tim's reports were in and finalized, he had dismissed him minutes ago and knew his son was really waiting for Ziva to be done. DiNozzo would likely be here half the night at the pace he was working, or rather not working. Gibbs guessed the man either had a late date with Wendy this evening or was not seeing her at all. He realized he hadn't heard much chatter about Wendy recently and frowned, thinking he would talk with Tony later, see what was going on.

Tim accepted the call, "Hello Gram, how are you?"

"I'm fine, darling boy, how are you, how has your week gone?"

"Had a tough case, Gram, but it's settled now."

"That means you caught the miscreant, Timothy, I'm glad."

"Thanks, Gram. Have you spoken with Ducky?"

"Yes, I did and he told me the two of you had talked.

"I'm so relieved, son, I wanted you to know but thought it better that Donald tell you."

"It's fine Gram, and I was glad to learn some history of the two of you." He got up from his desk and walked down the hall for a little more privacy. "I'm touched that you wanted my permission. I love both of you very much and I think it's great that the two of you have reconnected."

"Yes, Donald told me you caught us on the plane and later. It was such a shock, Timothy, to sit there on that plane, thinking of my Lily, Patrick and Daniel, being thankful to have found you and Sarah, or rather you find us, and to meet our Rob - and then to see my first love walk right by me, more than 50 years later! I didn't even notice when the plane took off, or much of the flight. I finally made myself turn and look at him, I was so afraid I was wrong, but when I saw those blue eyes, I knew it was Donald; especially when he looked up and saw me, he was shocked, I was probably the last person on earth he was expecting to see. Oh Timothy, I know you've had so much heartache, I hope you'll forgive two old people trying to rekindle their love."

"Gram, I meant what I said, I think it's wonderful. Please don't worry about any of us fretting over that. I do have a question for you, though."

"Yes of course, sweet boy." Tim smiled; over the weeks he had started getting used to the affectionate nicknames from his father, grandparents and the rest of the family; now he was noticing they felt normal. "Are you going to tell Sarah and Rob or shall I? "

"Oh no, I'll do that, I'm having lunch with them on Saturday. Just the three of us as Donald said you, Ziva and Jethro are on call and he and Dr. Palmer will be at their clinic."

"That's good, Gram, are you meeting somewhere or are they picking you up?" His grandmother laughed, a lovely joyous sound, "Oh no, 'Timpa', yes Rob told me that is a combination of Tim and Pa, and I understood what that means, you have been both older brother and father to those two. You raised those children right. Rob insisted on picking up both your sister and me."

"Good man, proud of him."

Maisie chuckled again, "Now you sound like your father."

"Thanks Gram, that's a great compliment!"

"Speaking of Rob, I haven't wanted to pry, but how is he paying for medical school, Timothy and when will we be able to call him Doctor?"

"He has scholarships and grants, Gram, Rob works hard, always has. And… Mr. Gemcity occasionally fills in a gap here and there. As for when we can properly call him Doctor, he'll be able to tell you better than me. I've been calling him Doc since he was 5 years old and tried to operate on me!" They both laughed at that, imagining a small Rob with the doctor kit he'd received for Christmas from Toys for Tots.

"You're hoping I won't comment on the Gemcity generosity, but I heard that and I imagine the same holds true for Sarah."

"Yes, she works very hard too, Gram and really, the book money is extra. College money for both of them is why I've continued writing. When they got the scholarships and grants, some of the Gemcity money just got re-directed."

"I'll bet to those poor children at your shelter and camp."

"Um, yes, Gram, but they're not 'mine'!"

"I understand, sweet boy."

They chatted for a few more minutes, until Ziva and Ducky came looking for him. He looked up in surprise, "Gram, Ziva is here, ready to go home and Ducky's here too, guess he just wants to say hello before we leave. "

"That's fine, Timothy, tell them hello for me. I'll talk with you soon!"

"Have fun with the kids tomorrow, Gram." He disconnected the call and smiled at his girlfriend and his 'almost' grandfather.

* * *

A/N: 1. "Woody's Perils of the Jungle" is a real miniature golf course in Herndon VA and it sounds like a lot of fun, very imaginative in that it's not the traditional windmill, bridge setup.

2. I used some creative license with the reference to Doctors-Without-Borders as it was started in the 1970's; Ducky's story, using David McCallum's real birth year of 1933 (per ImDB) is 1958.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks as always for your reviews, follows and favorites! Thanks also to my beta, harmonfreak1.

Chapter Three

"Hi you two! Ziva, ready to go?"

"Yes Tim; Ducky has a question for you first."

"I thought I would drop in on your father tomorrow, Timothy, while Maisie is at lunch with Rob and Sarah. I didn't know if you had said anything to him."

"No, Ducky, figured that was your business. I know he likes Maisie though and he's going to be happy for you."

"All right, dear boy, thank you. Now go on home before you get called out again!"

"Ducky, wait, are you going to see Gram at all this weekend?"

"As a matter of fact, we're having dinner tomorrow night."

"Great…if you need help with reservations, let me know, Mr. Gemcity would be happy to throw his name around."

"Thank you Timothy, but I am cooking for Maisie at home."

Tim smiled and nodded. "All right then. Well, if you ever …"

"I will, thank you."

Ziva and Tim turned toward the front elevators while Ducky turned back toward the elevator that would take him to his lair.

Gibbs saw his son and oh heck just say it, daughter-in-law finally heading for the elevator, looking up just in time to see his Tim sketch his little salute to him. Since that first day, it had become a little routine with them, trading off that little salute.

They had plans for dinner on Sunday, provided they hadn't spent the entire weekend at work. Now that the others were gone, he decided to talk with Tony, who was still apparently struggling with his report . Walking over, he stood still in front of the man's desk and when DiNozzo finally looked up, he saw the tired eyes. "DiNozzo, the report's done, isn't it?"

Tony sighed and twisted in his chair. "Yeah Boss, here." He handed over the paper copy, having sent his electronic copy to Gibbs. It would sit in the Team Leader's electronic Inbox until he'd read all the paper ones, then he'd sign off and send them all to Vance.

Gibbs perched on the edge of the desk. "Want to tell me what's going on?"

"Nothing Boss, why, did I do something wrong?"

"No, son, you just seem tired and not as…DiNozzo-y as you usually are. Tell you what…why don't you come over, have dinner and we'll hang out, been a while."

"It's only been three weeks, Boss, but that's ok, I'd like that." They gathered up their belongings and headed out and it wasn't until Tony was pulling into Gibbs' driveway that he realized Gibbs had not asked him if he had a date tonight or anything about Wendy. He grabbed his jacket and walked up the stairs to the front door, thinking how much of a relief it was to be here and that someone else knew.

As Tim pulled out of the parking garage, Ziva commented, "Tony has not mentioned Wendy all week."

"Yeah, I caught that and I think Dad did too."

"That is good, he will be more comfortable talking with him than with either of us, yes?"

"Yeah, that's probably true." He paused. "That was a big step for him, trying things with her again. Going to be tough on him if it hasn't worked out."

"Will it help if the three of us spend some time together again?"

Tim winced. While it would be good because the three of them were close, it would probably feel like sandpaper on an open wound to have boyfriend Tim and girlfriend Ziva in his face. He tried to explain it to Ziva who luckily understood.

"That is fine, then perhaps the two of you can spend some time together."

"Maybe, I'll have to think of some things we both like…kind of a short list."

"You could be his wing man."

"What? Ziva, I'm not going to a bar without you!"

"Tim, I trust you and if it would help Tony, it would be acceptable." Tim grumbled to himself and Ziva changed the subject. They reached home and did what chores they'd missed during the week, knowing they might not have a chance over the weekend. Tim cooked dinner, occasionally asking Ziva a question, but doing most of the preparation himself. The result was a tasty meal and Ziva made sure she showed him her appreciation.

They slept in, waking to mid-morning light streaming in their bedroom, happily surprised to have not been called in. Tim had to resist the urge to call his dad to double check. With no early morning call, the two had a leisurely breakfast and decided to run some quick errands around town. They usually didn't stray too far from home when they were on call. When they got home, still with no call out, Tim called his uncle to chat and Ziva settled down to an IM conversation with her friend Monique.

When Rob pulled up to Sarah's apartment, he looked at his watch. He was just on time and Sarah was notorious for being late. He was pleasantly surprised when she answered the door right away. "Hey Sis, you're ready, I thought I might have to wait a bit."

"Thanks so much, lil bro, and here I thought you were the nice one." They both laughed at the old joke.

"Gram said she has something she wants to talk with us about; that sounded kind of important."

"Yeah, I'm curious about that too."

"Think Tim knows already, whatever 'it' is?"

"I talked with him the other night, he was kind of on the run, I could hear Dad yelling in the background, but he said that he'd talked to Gram and she was going to talk to us."

During their conversation, they'd moved to the car and Rob turned out of the lot toward their uncle's home. When they reached it, he parked in the driveway and then hopped out, opening Sarah's door so she could change from the front to back seat. Letting her get settled in, he headed for the front door and rang the bell. His uncle opened it, smiling and giving him a quick hug.

"Hi Robbie, good to see you! Mum will be right out, she was just changing handbags."

"Sarah's in the car, maybe I should tell her so she's not left out there…" Rob paused, smiling as his grandmother entered the doorway, kissing her grandson hello and her son goodbye, then took Rob's arm. "No need, Robbie dear, I'm all ready, let's go!" Waving goodbye to his uncle, Rob carefully escorted Gram Maisie to the car, privately amusing her, and got her settled in the front seat. Although it was an older model car, it was in excellent condition and quite comfortable. She must be sure to let Mr. Gemcity know she approved.

They entered the restaurant, Maisie impressed again with the impeccable manners of her grandchildren. When she thought of Tim taking the time to teach his young charges manners while he was struggling to feed and clothe them, she wanted to cry. While she would be eternally grateful to whatever guardian angels had seen them through their years of poverty, she also hadn't been able to shake off the guilt; knowing that not questioning Natalie, just believing her lies, was the reason the children had been ultimately abandoned and homeless. She resolutely put those thoughts behind her, she hoped this would be a fun time with these two youngsters, a chance for her to get to know them a little better and to give them a little bit of her history.

Once seated and their drink orders taken, the trio settled in, chatting a bit about their weeks before they looked at their menus. After they had reviewed the menus and ordered their meals, Sarah, ever the impulsive one, dove right in. "Gram, you said you have something you wanted to talk about with us. Forgive me for just jumping in, but I was a little worried something was wrong."

Rob had to resist the temptation to roll his eyes, oh that was so Sarah! Instead he smiled at his Gram as she patted Sarah's hand. "No dear, nothing's wrong, just wanted to let you know on what's been happening with me – and tell you a little bit of my history."

Seeing their eyes light up, she continued with her story, telling them her point of view of the story Ducky had related to Tim and Ziva. "You see, when I was just a young thing, I moved from Scotland to London for a job. And while I was there…" as she told them of her first love. When she called the man Donald, Sarah gasped, "Gram, is that a Donald we know?"

Rob frowned, _what Donald did they know, oh yeah, Ducky's first name was.. OH._ He perked up as their grandmother confirmed that yes, her first love had been Donald Mallard. She completed the story, telling of their parting and of their discovery of each other after nearly 50 years, on the plane to California.

When Maisie paused to take a sip of her iced tea, Sarah asked, "So are you and Ducky, I mean Donald, going to be seeing each other again? Besides the family gatherings?"

"Yes love, and I hope you two will forgive me, but I told Donald he needed to tell your brother about us and ask his permission for us to date."

Rob was surprised, "Gram, why do you want us to forgive you and why did Ducky need Tim's permission?"

"The permission is a tradition, darling boy and the forgiveness is because I should have been the one to tell the three of you. However, I felt that because Timothy and Donald work so closely together, it would be best if Donald told him – and Ziva – of our history and the current situation. As it was, your brother had seen us recognize each other on the plane."

Rob smiled, of course he had. "That's our big bro, Gram, a trained observer and investigator."

"So I understand. Now, I have a question for you, my lad. When am I allowed to brag about my grandson the Doctor? Not that I'm not already bragging about my granddaughter the writer and my grandson the medical student."

"Not for awhile, Gram, I still have my internship and residency to do."

"Well, my friends won't know that, will they?"

Rob laughed, "I guess not!"

Their food arrived shortly after and they dug in, amused to see Maisie tucking into her salad. She'd told them that her Donald was making her dinner this evening so she didn't want to spoil her appetite.

Ducky rose a little earlier than usual on that Saturday and, knowing Jethro would be staying close to home, decided to drop in on him. As he turned onto the street where his friend lived, he spotted what he thought was young Anthony's car driving away. Frowning, he hoped all was well there, he continued on, turning into Jethro's driveway. As he exited the car, he saw his friend leaning against his open front door. "Hey Duck."

"Hello Jethro."

"You come over to tell me whatever's been on your mind recently?"

"Yes, my friend I have."

Entering the house, Jethro turned toward the kitchen, "I'll put some water on for tea."

"Thank you Jethro. Ahh, was that Anthony's car I saw leaving?"

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, he's had a tough week, besides the case, so he came for dinner and stayed over."

"I'm sure that did him a world of good, Jethro, you are a good parent to him. Are he and Wendy still seeing each other?"

"Wendy and her son, yeah."

"Oh dear, problems."

Gibbs just nodded. "Details are his to tell. Just looking at the picture will tell you something though: divorced Wendy with son old enough to resent both parents for the divorce and anyone else who tries to get in the picture. Enter old boyfriend Tony, and it's going to be a rough ride."

"And Anthony just dipping his toe back into the deep scary pool of commitment, oh dear, yes I can see he needed you."

"Needs us all, just not going to open up to everyone."

"Yes, dear boy, I'll keep that in mind." The water was hot enough, so Ducky pulled it off the stove and poured it into the teacup he kept there, along with a box of his favorite tea. He joined Jethro at his kitchen table and the two sat for a few minutes, enjoying their hot beverages.

He finally put his cup down, "Jethro, I told Timothy and Ziva my story earlier in the week so I'm here to tell you now. It's something that happened in London, that year I was in medical school there…" Gibbs nodded, he remembered his friend had won some sort of award for the year in London. Ducky told him the story and Gibbs listened intently. When Ducky told him of the "Dear Donald" letter, Gibbs shook his head, having had a "Dear Jethro" letter himself, he knew how painful they were.

From several things he'd seen and heard, he'd already guessed who Ducky's angel was and when the man confirmed it, he grinned and clapped him on the back. "That's Gram Maisie, Duck, that's good news…isn't it? You are going to try and win her back, aren't you?"

"Yes Jethro, in fact, that's why I told Timothy, Maisie insisted I ask his permission."

"Good for her. And I'm sure he said yes."

"He was rather old fashioned about it, asked me a few questions and then gave his blessing. I believe he may have been channeling you."

"That's my boy! What about the kids? Is Tim telling them?" He frowned as he asked, that wasn't right.

"No, Maisie is having lunch with Sarah and Rob today and telling them. She felt Tim should be the one to deal with me because of our working relationship but that she should tell the younger ones."

Gibbs perked up again, "Good, I'm glad. Have you spoken with Jim or Claire at all?"

"I wasn't sure I should, but I also thought it wouldn't hurt, so last night I spoke with James. Maisie had already told both Claire and him, so there wasn't a problem. He said he was learning new things about his family every day and as long as his mother was happy, he would be too. Very much in line with what Timothy said."

"Wish you the best of luck, my friend."

"Thank you, I feel I've had a very great deal of luck, unfortunately it is due to the children's problems."

Gibbs put an arm around his shoulders, "Duck, I know Rob, Sarah, Tim and Geordie if we ever meet him, would be the first to tell you not to dwell on that. You had nothing to do with the Russian spy, nor with the FBI. "

"You aren't going to say it was all coincidence, are you?"

"And violate my own rule? No, I think everything that's happened is more tied to Fate than coincidence."

"I've always suspected you're a romantic."

Gibbs snorted, "Been married four times, Duck, what was your first clue?"

Both men chuckled at that. They passed the time, finishing their beverages and Jethro showing his friend his latest wood-working project, aside from his work at the shelter. Ducky didn't stay long after that, he wanted to stop at his favorite florist on the way home and then start his preparations for this evening.

When he arrived home, he looked around with a critical eye. The house was ready, his cleaning lady had been yesterday rather than earlier in the week and understanding this was a special occasion, had left the house not only spotless as usual, but also shining from top to bottom. She had also washed his mother's best china and polished the silver, leaving him with just the final details to handle.

Arranging the flowers, he set them on the tablecloth he had retrieved from the cleaners yesterday. His clothes were ready, he was happy to find he had in his wardrobe a close approximation to the outfit he'd worn that night nearly 50 years ago. He smiled happily, although he was also a bit nervous. Lunch out was one thing, dinner in was another, although he had no expectations other than a pleasant evening.

Tim called, offering his services as chauffeur for the evening. Although Ducky considered it, he thanked Timothy as he declined. He wanted this evening to be as much about reconnecting with Maisie as possible and time alone in his car would be part of that.

In her room, Maisie took out the dress she, Claire and young Ainsley had found for this special evening. While it was not the same style as the one she'd worn so many years ago, it was very close to the same color and did wonders for her hair, eyes and skin. Earlier in the week, Ainsley had helped her look for her scarf; they'd found it in a box of her old clothes in the attic. She thought to just air it out, but Claire insisted on taking it to the dry cleaners and had picked it up yesterday. Now she tried it on, very proud to find that it still fit around her waist.

She frowned as she heard the doorbell, it was entirely too early for Donald, who…and then she heard her granddaughters giggling and smiled. Ah, the girls had come to help her. Still in her luncheon clothes, she popped down the hall to find Sarah, Ainsley and Ziva giggling with each other. Looking outside, she saw Tim, Rob, Callum and Jim sitting at the picnic table with cold drinks. Claire, where was Claire?

She jumped at a tap on her shoulder, "I'm here, Mum. The girls called and asked if they could come over, the boys just showed up with them." Maisie smiled, while she didn't mind a send-off , she hoped Donald wouldn't be intimidated. Claire must have read her mind, saying with a smile, "He may as well get used to it now, Mum, some or all of this lot will likely always be around." Maisie agreed and entering into the living room, greeted her girls and blew a kiss outside to her boys.

She motioned for the girls to enter her room with her and they oohed and ahhed over her outfit, congratulating Ainsley on her eye for the perfect dress, for she had been the one to spot it. Maisie watched them affectionately and then looked at her vanity, knowing it was time to start. She sat down and first laid out her jewelry, remembering that night.

_Maisie put the finishing touches on her outfit as she prepared for her first ever celebration of "Burns' Night" in London. A native of Edinburgh, after finishing school she had moved to London for a new job just after Boxing Day four weeks ago and was terribly homesick. Having heard from a friend about the annual gathering of ex-pats to celebrate the birthday of their national treasure Robert Burns; she determined to go with the hope that hearing familiar accents would help ease her ache for home. And perhaps she would make some new friends. Her new flat-mate Jocelyn agreed to go with her, each encouraging the other that there would be some handsome and promising young men there. Carefully locking the door of their flat behind them, the two young women walked swiftly through the evening strollers to their Tube stop. _

After speaking with Ducky, Tim called his dad to let him know they'd be at the Hubbards for awhile. Jethro got a kick out of the idea the kids all wanted to see Gram Maisie and Ducky all decked out, going out on their first formal date since their parting. He also thought he'd let his old friend know, not wanting him to have an unwelcome surprise. He didn't think it would be a bad thing, but understood the unspoken request from Tim. So he did his duty as Dad and friend and called Ducky to let him know. The older man was just as happy to find out beforehand.

Now Ducky dressed carefully, remembering that long ago night. As he'd told Timothy and Ziva, Drew had shown up quite early.

_Donald opened the door to find Drew in his kilt and tartan. "You're early, Drew, I thought I had more time!" _

_"Didn't want you to cut out on me, Donald. Or hide in the library." _

_Donald opened his mouth for a sharp retort and then closed it, the thought of hiding in the library had crossed his mind. Making a face at his friend, he turned toward the only closet in his one room accommodation, known as a bedsit. Taking out his kilt, dress shirt and shoes, along with the accessories that would complete his outfit, he chased Drew out to wait for him in the lounge downstairs. As he dressed, he hummed tunelessly, wondering if there would be any bonny lasses there this evening. Or just dried up ex-pats desperate to hear an accent and news from home. Carefully combing his hair and adjusting his tartan, he finally felt he was presentable for this special evening and locking his door, went downstairs to find his friend. _

Now he finished dressing in the same kilt he'd worn that night and completed his outfit. Taking a comb through his hair, he reflected that he was damn lucky to have so much hair left. Many fellows his age had none at all, or patches here and there. He looked in the mirror and was glad that his clothing hid that 15 pounds that, despite his best efforts, appeared to be home to stay on his belly. He stood straight and mimicked holding out his arm for his lady. Then smiling at his foolishness, he grabbed his wallet and keys, and left to pick up Maisie.

Reaching the Hubbard home, he walked to the front door, knocking. The door opened and they stood, each drinking in the beauty of the other.

_He walked into the party with Drew and looked around. Although there were plenty of people there, the first one that caught his attention was a beautiful young woman with hair the color of sunlight and dancing blue eyes. Her dress, which Donald thought clung rather nicely to her, was accented at her waist by a clan sash. She was perfection and he felt himself immediately drawn to her. He knew he walked because suddenly he was in front of her but he never remembered the actual movement. _

_"Hello," he managed to say, "Happy Burns' Night! My name is Donald Mallard, please tell me yours." He reached out his hand and she took it. "Hello, Happy Burns' Night to you as well. I'm Maisie, Maisie Spalding." He took her hand and kissed it, then tucked it under his arm, intending to never let go. _

The End

* * *

Hope the cultural references are correct, all from online sources. While I've been to Edinburgh and London, I never looked at either with an eye to writing a story with either as the backdrop or backstory. Silly me!

Stay tuned, our next story, "Oh Brother" will be up Thursday.


End file.
